


Hope and Void

by Saicko (Pistrix)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 14:15:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15390546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pistrix/pseuds/Saicko





	Hope and Void

How powerful can the pain of being alone be? How much can the grief of losing someone important influence the mind?  
Not many people can answer any of these questions, not many of their minds were troubled by such experiences... however, in the vast world which Multiuniverse is, there is always someone suffering.  
Hope, one of the members of universes protectors, had gone through a lot. Despite his lifelong, undying duty was to bring hopes to those who lost them due to hardships of life, Hope's soul was aching inside. Loneliness and bitterness were living these, each day reminding him of what he had lost along with what difficulties he met. Though his body wasn't hurt at all, the little skeleton was hurt inside. It's one of the most brutal and horrible kinds of pain which existed, not even letting their victim pass a single calm sleep.  
Hope was tired. But no matter what happens, his work has to keep going on. He knew all the universes were in need of him. Without his powers, without his irreplaceable hopes, their fate will be to perish, driven by hate - the uglies kind of magic which corrupts the Multiuniverse.  
The skeleton slowly lifted his mild skull up, his gaze capturing one of the white papers floating around his world. It was glowing slightly in faint yellow or even gold, catching Hope's attention, seeking his help. One of the universes desperately required him. He had to take care of the problem bothering it.  
While raising his body up, in the act of standing up, the protector was thinking. What could cause that? Or who? Wasit Nightmare Or, maybe...  
No. Hope didn't let this thought fly into his mind. He didn't want to. It was terribly sore, to believe that his dear brother could-  
After the skeleton had stood up, he went towards the struggling in air note. Hope wasn't in a hurry, there was no need to rush at all. He knew his job has to be done, but he was taking it slow, with unlimited patience.  
After all, no one was waiting for him at home. There was only he and an innumerable amount of flying notes, proofs of universes existence.

~*~

Void allowed a severe sigh out from between his dark lips, leaning to one side from his wide table, his workplace. Few black, almost transparent screens were set in a semi-circle, surrounding the skeleton who was sitting on an office chair, showing him data written in binary, octal and hexadecimal code. Except for many zeros and ones, mixed with the first six letters of the alphabet, there was also another language - nowadays almost forgotten and lost, wingdings alphabet.  
Back in days, wingdings was one most of the common languages codes known between scientist of all kind. But with time, due to difficulties with learning such complicated, sophisticated signs, this tradition started to unavoidably fade away, staying only in minds of few staunch scientist and scholars, who are currently spread across the whole Multiuniverse, working on his own in silence, not permitting anyone come and examine their researches. Someone with fresh, healthy mind would consider them crazy and introverted because of that.  
Every so often, Void was cursing his father for honouring this tradition, making his destructor life even more difficult than it is.  
Void couldn't say that he neither likes nor dislikes his job. For him, it just was. Destroying universes wasn't nor cruel or blissful, he stopped to care a long time ago. However, one thing was still bringing disorder and pain into his soul.  
He still remembers how he was watching him on one of his many screens, with his arms crossed on the chest and with an accompaniment of nervous noises which sounded across the room. Void didn't want to agree to this - but his father, Gaster, didn't leave him any choice.  
There he was, watching his brother exploring his brand, but empty and blank place. He observed him walking around with hands close to his heavy breathing chest, trying to find out what happened. He was calling for help, calling for his father, brother, for anyone but... nobody came. From being with his dear family, he woke up only to be all alone, in a universe of his own.  
Void truly wanted, no, he needed his family to become reunited again. Even if Gaster was annoying him from time to time with his new tasks, he could get over that and sacrifice his own convenience only to have his kind brother back to his side, where he once used to be, before their father decided that it's the time to move on with their duties. That's why Gaster separated the siblings - to force them two to fulfil their responsibilities. Even if it meant them both battling each other in critical situations.  
Gaster kept saying that it's for 'the global good', that the path he chose is correct. But Void saw it the other way.  
He knows that Hope needs his family to reach out his hand to, that a familiar face which would encourage him during the miserablest times.  
But not only that mattered, there was one more thing.  
Void needs him too.

~*~

Hope appeared in the alternative universe, allowing his foot elastically fall on the ground, his legs supporting body's weight. He turned his skull from left to right, searching with his careful gaze for eventually incoming dangers from unknown world's side. Hope preferred to be careful first off in this unknown for him world, then to regret later that he let himself to be caught into a trap, thanks to his pernicious unconcern.  
Hope's primary task was to try to localize the source of negative energy, to start off with his goal and let his positive magic spread towards its destination. Habitually, it wasn't hard. For a protector like him, unpleasant feelings were easy to feel and find, even in the vastest universes, but this time, however, it turned out to be pretty difficult for the little hero.  
Hope heaved a sigh out from his throat, letting his legs guide him around while still turning his head to the sides with concern and precaution written on his delicate, beaming with a pure white face.  
Is it possible he camouflaged himself? Hiding own magic isn't that hard for someone who can take over it and control it. - Hope thought in his mind, taking narrow steps on crystal-white snow. He arrived in the forest, after all, maybe he was near to Snowdin because of the soft, fresh fluff under his foot.  
...he just hoped that still being Underground didn't mean that it's a genocide timeline, where the human hunts for monster's lives.  
Even despite passing time, Hope couldn't find out where or what was the source of this overwhelming negative energy, Only then, he began to be suspicious about all of his.Something was definitely off, ale the protector didn't like that at all. Such a huge amount of power can't hide like this!  
He was relatively calmly stomping from foot to foot, while his gaze was scanning from any dangers coming from the woods. He was looking into infinity darkness, letting it swallow his glance to look even further, looking for source of ANY energy now. However, the forest was silent and empty.There was nothing to see here.  
Sad to relate, Hope didn't think of watching himself from an ambush from above the aged trees.  
Where Hope's gaze didn't try to reach, there was some kind of twisted creature lurking on the most towering tree's branches. Its body was covered in muddy goop, which color helped the intruder to become one with omnipresent darkness. Monster's presence was betrayed only by the color of its beaming in flawless golden eyes. Its long tail, finished with a plume, was assisting the creature in maintaining its balance on the tree, while its wide claws were clinging to the wood to not allow it fall off to the ground. Its head, relatively small while compered to monster's muscled with goop body, was ended with a single straight horn and was moving along with Hope's legs movement, observing the guardian with piercing golden eyes. Its mouth half open, with teeth sharp as knife's blade, the horrible creature was allowing some goop fell on the ground and few other branches below its position.  
Some of the grease fell just in front of Hope's foot, when the creature was jumping off to the further tree, to take a batter position for observing the protector. The skeleton quickly looked up, taking a wide step back, searching from intruder's presence. He finally identified it, after some searching, snapping his gaze up on the golden eyes and then - on creature's whole body. It didn't take him long to understand, whatever it was, it was definitely the source he was looking for. The creature seemed to be literally made out of absolute hate.  
Hope made sure to get ready when he saw how it lowered its body, preparing to jump off from the branch.

~*~

Void never takes his look off from Hope.There was always a screen somewhere, where he was watching his brother's each move, each task, he heard his each word, his each vent about his miserable life... However, he could never respond back. He wasn't supposed to do that.  
Their father wouldn't appreciate that.  
The dark-boned skeleton let a heavy sigh out from his lungs, leaning back on his office chair, snapping his lazy gaze up once more, towards the screens. At first, he checked on the universes, searching for suspicious moves. But nothing was happening. Then, he looked around his place, like he was looking through CVI's cameras. However, instead of the lenses, there were only invisible screens, watching Void's territory.  
After making sure that everything is on the right place, there was a time for his dear brother.  
Void turned his skull to the side, where another, but a bit smaller screen was hovering. It was always on the same place, showing only one thing - the position of Hope.  
This time however, the display was glitching, to finally turn into clear darkness.

~*~

Whatever that thing was, it was on the right way to beat Hope up.  
The little skeleton, despite being fast, could not match to the creature's incredible agility. That thing was so extremely nimble and lithe that it avoided almost every swing of Hope's scythe, which was charged with positive feelings, making its blade beam a bit with yellow glow, distracting the darkness around.The guardian couldn't land even a single hit on creature's goopy body, and himself was already bruised from each side from the hits of massive paws. Hope knew he was loosing this fight. And he also knew there was no one to help him.  
As the creature pushed Hope to the ground with its bulky body and lifted up his clawed paw once again, the skeleton reminded himself that if he loses, it might be his last battle ever.  
On single breath, Hope obtained his charged weapon which fell just next to his aching body, hauling it up with two hands to somehow block the incoming sharp like knives claws. A sudden spark of blinding light forced Hope to close his eyes for few seconds, turning his head to the side. The glow was so powerful that it warmed his face and everything around. As he thought, his positive feelings acted at the end - at the touch with pure hate, the two different energies interacted with each other, battling and causing a powerful burst. Hope was pushed to the ground once more upon the impact as well as his enemy, who was knocked few meters away, its back meeting a trunk of a tree. Hope heard a harsh hiss from the beast's side, as he decided to open his eyes. The skeleton saw him, with his left paw almost gone in appearing glitches. It almost seemed like the positive feelings had eaten up the hate, which was now missing in the creature's arm.  
Hope quickly stood up, wielding his glowing scythe to support his heavy from tiredness body, the battle was still up. He'll finish that thing here and finally purge this universe from its destructive energy.  
However, a little gasp of surprise escaped from between his lips as he saw spools of blue strings rolling around the tree together with the creature, immobilizing him. Hope knew these twines, he remembers their faint blue glow and solid structure.  
Was it Erro-  
"Nice one, brother." a familiar voice could be heard from the near, but it wasn't Error's rough voice, it was someone else "Let me clean it up."  
Void knew that meeting his brother after years of isolation wasn't a good choice. But he couldn't stand seeing his faded in black display. He knew something was happening, and as usually he was right. He can always try to wipe Hope's memory after or even bring him o their father if it won't work.  
He can let him live without these precious memories, but he can't let him take any risk to suffer physically or even lose his life.  
"Vo.. brother?!" Hope called after the surprise had been wiped away from his face, and on its place shock came instead. He turned the other way to search the source of voice, his eyes running around like crazy and stopping at Void's figure at the end. "How.. w-why.. w.. where have you been?!"the young skeleton cried out, letting his weapon fall to the snow as he widened his yellow and orange eye.  
There was an attempt from Hope's side to reach out to Void, his foot smudging against the white fluff, but sharp and piercing through the snowy woods creature's roar was the last thing he could remember before falling unconscious.

~*~

It has been few hours, and Hope still wasn't waking up.  
Void cursed quietly under his nose, peeking to his brother who was resting on the bed. How could he let this happen?  
The dark skeleton knew that the guardian was vulnerable to the negative feelings, but that thing didn't even touch him.Was it possible that during fight, hate succeed to sneak into Hope's code, to deliver a decisive strike in the key moment? Whatever, Void was a master of coding. He'll look up for it after Hope wakes up.  
Void's eyes finally detected a move of Hope's hand, and he was almost right away by his side, using teleportation abilities.  
The bright-boned skeleton lifted his eyelids up, like he woke up from a deep sleep. He muttered something under his nose when he struck his aching arm to stroke his face, barely recognizing Void's presence for now.  
"Hope..?" Void called, standing above his weakened brother, giving him a caring gaze "Are you still fee-"  
"I've asked you.." Hope interrupted him, saying between two tedious breaths "Where have you been..?"  
Void sighted with a faint smile on face. Still, the only thing about which Hope could think of, even after being beaten up in battle, was where his dear brother was...  
"We can talk about this later, okay? In the first place, I want you to recover, then the explanations will come." ..huh, was Void thinking about wiping Hope's memory before?  
"Fine.." Hope muttered, slowly putting his hands on bed. Then, with their help, he lifted his suffering body up, n order to find Void' comforting embrace. "I missed you, brother.."  
"I missed you too." Void spoke with little smile on face, an unusual thing from his side. He lifted his black arms, rolling them around the guardian, his gloved hands rubbing Hope's back in soft circles.  
They both melted into this long-waited embrace, Hope closing his eyes like he was going to fall into sleep once more.  
"How did you feel.. that I was in danger..?"  
"My eyes are everywhere, brother." Void admitted, his voice lowering to a gentle, soothing tone "They snatched your strugglings as well. I'm sorry for not coming earlier. I could prevent you from fainting at least..."  
"That's alright. I'm just glad you're here again..." Hope muttered under his breath, his face buried in Void's dark sweater, finding the coziness and peace.  
The destroyed smiled at this view under his skull, his red fingers hidden behind gloves keep moving to help Hope with taking a tranquil rest.  
He doesn't know what will come next. He doesn't know when and if Gaster appear here, deciding to isolate them again, like he did few years ago. One thing he knew for sure was that Hope was here again, like they were li ttle kids, searching for their protective and lovely arms.  
Nothing was going to break this day for Void, even another message from his father who bumped in just after Hope fall asleep, hidden in his warm embrace.


End file.
